Hello, Dear Bloggites. 🙂 I am bringing you another book review from my favorite author, Stephen King, who partnered with his son, Owen King, to write the book called Sleeping Beauties.

I have read almost ALL of Stephen King’s books and have the rest on order to read but I have never read one of his son’s books. I was looking forward to seeing how their writing styles complimented or contradicted each other, as well as, how well they meshed together in the book.

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King is about a small town that is struck by the latest disease hitting the world called the Aurora Flu aka The Sleeping Sickness which causes women of all ages to grow a cobweb type of cocoon around their bodies once they fall asleep. If you were to wake up these women in the cocoon, they became feral animals attacking and killing whatever or whomever woke them from their sleep. There was one female, Eve, who seemed to not be affected by the disease which cause a big fight among the townspeople. Some wanted to take her to kill or study her and some fought to keep her alive until it wore off in a few days as Eve promised them.

I did not know what to expect out of this book when I first bought it. I know Stephen King’s voice in all his written works, but I did not know Owen King’s voice, so I was a bit concerned about how well the book would flow. The story flowed well, you could tell the different voices at the beginning of the writing but as the story continued, the two author voices became in unison thus making the storyline easier to read without any tone changes.

The characters were developed, and several had their own unique personalities and quirks and throughout the book you did get the background stories of each of the key players. While I enjoyed the book, I did not find myself invested in any one character. I do not know if it was due to the many players in the book or if it was due to the actual story line. Either way, I was not consumed with wanting to know the next move as I normally am while reading a Stephen King book. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it was anticlimactic for me in the end.

I give Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King 3 out of 5 Bookmarks.

~4-Ever, P

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A couple of weeks ago I was driving in my car and the program I was listening to was discussing forgiveness and reconciliation. Listening to this program made me really begin to analyze the difference between the two and the impact each has on a person’s life.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of forgiveness means: 1. act of forgiving or being forgiven and 2. disposition or willingness to forgive. The definition of reconciliation, according to dictionary.com, means: 1. act of reconciling, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce, 2. the state of being reconciled, as when someone becomes resigned to something not desired, and 3. the process of making consistent or compatible.

Reconciliation requires two or more people to find a common ground when a situation occurs that causes issues between them. A person may say that they have “reconciled” themselves to something that happened to them, but the reality is, unless that person has found the restoration or harmony with another, they have not truly been able to finalize the whole situation to put it to rest in their life. Two or more people must want the reconciliation of a situation for that situation to find a resolution.

Forgiveness, which can occur between two or more people, is really a singular act for each person. A person who refuses to find forgiveness for someone or something that has caused them pain or wrongdoing, allows the other party to live rent free in their head. I say this because, when you refuse to let go of the pain, hurt, and damage done against you, you force yourself to live in that moment every day of your life and allow it to control you and all your decisions you make.

“I’m sorry” is a hard statement to make and many times even harder to accept. Hearing this statement does not take the pain, wrongdoing, and damage away. Even if you cannot reconcile yourself with the person that caused the hurt, you can choose to forgive that person. It is only with the forgiving that you can truly begin to heal.

The state of forgiveness is where you find the freedom to move past the pain, wrongdoing, and damage that is causing you to suffer. Forgiveness takes away the “live here rent free” sign in your head. Learning to forgive any pain, damage, or wrongdoing done against you will allow your body and mind to begin to heal.

You may never forget the pain, damage, or wrongdoing done against you and you may never be able to reconcile the situation with the person that caused the harm, but when you allow yourself to forgive, that pain will become less; that damage will begin to mend; and that wrongdoing will begin to fade as each day goes by. You will begin to feel the sensation of the freedom you are allowing yourself when you choose to forgive. After all, you deserve to be free mind, body, and soul. 🙂

Do you struggle with one or both of these things in your life, Dear Bloggite? How have you handled situations or people in the past who caused you to hurt? Share your thoughts and experiences, and together, we will work through it.

~4-Ever, P

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Hello, Dear Bloggites. 🙂 I am happy to let you know that change is happening, slowly and surely, the change is going to happen. This change is leading toward reaching some more goals that I set back in 2017 and renewed in 2018.

Change 3 Update: My current business is surviving this lull in the industry and seems to finally have bounced back…continue to find ways to build income from this business – I am glad and sad to say my coworker has found another job due to the reduction in work orders. I am glad for him and his new journey, but sad, because he has helped me build my business and we have worked together for the past few years. I know he will have great success in his new journey. 🙂

Change 3 Update: I will find myself on my own again with my son, the dog, and the guinea pig with no roommate for the first time in, geez, years – Because of the new job status for my coworker, it puts me one step closer to being on my own again. With the drive he has to make each day, and with the steady increase in income, it will allow him to find his own place in a few months. 🙂

As you can see, I just wanted to check in with y’all and let you know what is going on. It has been a couple of days since I blogged last, but this one puts me back on schedule. I am excited about the new changes taking place and I hope you will continue with me on this awesome journey! 🙂

What exciting changes are happening in your life? Share in the comments below. Look forward to chatting with you. 🙂

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“It took me a long time to learn that not all pain is pointless.” ~Rebecca Rose (in It Tickled the Whiskers of My Soul)

Hello, Dear Bloggites! I know, I was supposed to make a post yesterday, but I intentionally delayed it for today because I am bringing you a special book review. The author, Rebecca Rose, emailed me offering her latest book for free if I was willing to give an honest review of it after I was finished. Of course, I do my best to never turn down a request for a review, but this one was extra special because I “met” Rebecca via email when she published her first book, I’ll Be Fine, and requested a review.

I loved that story so much, that I talk about it to this day! So, of course, I jumped at the opportunity to read her newest release, It Tickled the Whiskers of My Soul. This is the author’s third book but second published under her name. This book is a story of what the author has learned over time about life, belief, and self. The book is formatted into a separate “love letter” for each topic.

This book was written in a loving, intimate style that made you feel as if you were sitting with the author while she explained what she has learned from life. The pictures are a joy and will bring a smile to your face even if you think you are the grumpiest person alive. Each letter has a theme in it and the author goes into detail about what journey she took to realized that specific theme i.e. true self, fear, laws of attraction, intention, etc.

I loved that even though this book is on spirituality, it is not preachy or skewed to one view or another, so it is written for all to read. I enjoyed reading how the author found her way through situations and time. So many people do not view “bad” or “hard” times as a learning experience and I think this book would help people realize that even though the situation may be less than optimal, it is always better in the end.

I give It Tickled The Whiskers Of My Soul by Rebecca Rose 5 out of 5 Bookmarks! Great read for people looking for ways to deal with life. 🙂

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Admit it, before you watched the video you heard Hannibal saying the title of this blog post, I know you did! 🙂 Today’s post is about what the title says: plans falling into place and coming together.

I spent all day in the wonderful presence of many writers and people on fire for Christ, Dear Bloggites. I was invited to join Roaring Lambs organization’s testimonial workshop and then stay for Roaring Writers executive committee luncheon. I met, Debbie Snell, at a Christian Networking Breakfast that I went to with my best friend and owner of InSpeyer HR, Tracy.

After chatting a bit with Debbie, she told me she thought we could totally work together in one way or the other after she found out about my PAC Wordsmith business and author site. The next day after the luncheon, Debbie called me and invited me to join them today to see what we can do.

It was an Amazing time I spent with Debbie and several others, some whom I already knew, and many whom I just met today (or the day I met Debbie). I partnered with them to help grow the Roaring Writers group to help Christian writers get their books out to the world. I love words (as you all know) and I love Christ, so you can just imagine how stoked I am about this new opportunity! 🙂

This is just another step to the road of writing full time and engulfing myself in all things written. I am still working my processing business, Legacy Preservation, and will continue with my current clients, but with the drying up of the property preservation industry, I am finding that I need to find additional revenue to make up for the loss of money. Having that additional revenue come from one of my two passions, writing, just makes it that much better.

As I move forward with Roaring Writers, I will keep all of you updated. It is just Unbelievable when a plan does come together! Smooches!

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Have you ever listened to your internal thoughts? You know the ones, Dear Bloggites, the little voice in your head constantly telling you this and that on everything you do in life.

I love to learn; and when I learn some interesting facts or a new thought process, I take notice. I am that person that hopes for the best and plans for the worst. Having that type of outlook on life, for me, allows me to enjoy the little things in life while being prepared for the unexpected.

That little voice or internal thought is my joy and pain. My joy because I know I can do anything I set my mind to do and usually when I make up my mind to do something, I rarely change it. But on the flip side of that, the inner thoughts are my pain. I am constantly catching myself doing negative speak in my head. You know the kind – “You’re an idiot”, “Stupid”, “Ugly”, etc. I hear them all the time trying to take forefront in my brain and it is a constant battle for me.

If you have ever spent five minutes with me, you will probably be surprised by this admission, but it is true. The negativity bleeds in my brain about myself a lot and I am constantly having to patch up the wound. That is why most people would be shocked to know that I even have one negative thought in my brain because I CHOOSE to embrace this Journey called Life and so whenever I hear the negative monster stomping up the isle in my mind, I slam the door shut and repeat positive thoughts that void the negative.

Doing this trick – changing the negative to the positive – is hard because you must make a conscious effort to really listen to your mind and thoughts all the time. Some days are harder than other days, but I keep the fight going because at the end of the day, I want to look at myself in the mirror and know I did right by everyone I was in contact with as well as doing right by myself.

What do you struggle with and how do you deal with it? Share your thoughts below. I look forward to chatting with you.

~4-Ever, P

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Today was a rare day because work was actually closed all day! Last time we closed was on Christmas Day, so I decided we were off on Easter Sunday. It was really nice to not have to get up and load the computer and start processing orders. I was able to turn off my regular alarm, lazily wake up, and then have cuddle time with my dog, Ragonk. I went to Bible Study class, then spent the afternoon with family. It was wonderful! I truly believe the mind and body need rest and with the industry that my business is in, it prevents that ability due to being a seven-day a week industry. I feel the pressure of working seven days. I am trying to create boundaries to allow my mind and body to get the needed rest and today was a first step on that journey. 🙂

What do you do to get the rest for your mind and body, Dear Bloggite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Now, onto the glorious one:

Being a Christian, today I celebrated the Risen Christ after His crucifixion and three-days in the tomb. Today reminds believers that Christ is alive and well and He has overcome death. I have many friends who are Christians and many who are not, and one of the biggest differences I see in these two types of friends is the fear of death. When you are not a believer in Christ, you view death as an ending with nothingness after. When you are a believer in Christ, death is just the beginning of a life everlasting with Christ. As a believer, I do not fear death, I welcome it when it is my time to go because I know I will go to a better place than this Earth. That knowledge is so refreshing and having that knowledge, I rejoice in the life people lived after they pass and rejoice in their life everlasting if they are a believer. It is amazing to be free of the fear of death and I wish everyone could feel that. 😀

What do you believe in, Dear Bloggites? Do you celebrate life and death, or do you live with the fear of death each day of your life? Share your belief in the comments below.